Study Commends Legal-Services Pact

A study of Ventura County’s contract with a legal services firm has recommended continuing the $1.3-million agreement, concluding that the Ventura-based Conflict Defense Associates “does a good job.”

The $25,000 study was launched after the firm billed the county an additional $570,000 during the last year. A private consultant was hired to evaluate the charges and explore other, possibly less costly, options.

But the report released to the Board of Supervisors this week states that the firm’s request for additional funding is legitimate, given the rise in felony cases in connection with “three strikes” legislation.

Another factor cited in the report was an unusual fraud case that cost Conflict Defense Associates about $140,000 in investigative and accounting fees.

But the report also states that, given the lack of competition for indigent legal defense in the county, officials should consider encouraging other bidders in the future.

“If CDA continues to overrun the existing contract, public sector alternatives become more attractive,” the 60-page report states.

The consultant who wrote the study, Briana Lane of Human Resources Strategies in Upland, says that hiring an alternate public defender could be at least as efficient as the current contract with CDA.

But she notes that such a move could meet resistance from the private bar.

“The disruption to the harmonious working of the legal community and the enduring animosities that result are not necessarily in the best interest of the county,” the study says.

Conflict Defense Associates has contracted with the county to assist the public defender’s office in handling indigent cases for 16 years.

The firm takes cases in which there is more than one defendant in order to eliminate potential conflicts.